QUASI

EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGN

By- Sreejita Ghosh

Lumbini Surai
Sohini Satiar
Trisha Paul
Rupanjana Ghosh
CONTENTS:
1.Introduction
2.Difference between True Experimental Design and Quasi Experimental
Design
3. Steps of Doing Quasi Experimental Design
4. Types of Quasi Experimental Design
5. Uses of Quasi Experimental Design
6. Ethics of Using Quasi experimental Design
7. Merits
8. Demerits
9. Conclusion
10. References
INTRODUCTION:
A quasi experimental design is a research method to estimate causal
relationships and their effects ( the effect of independent variables on
dependent variables) without random assignment.

According to Mcburry and white (2007), ”Quasi experimental design is

research procedure in which the scientist must select subject for
different condition from preexisting groups.”
According to Cook and Cambell (2002), “ The term quasi experimental
Design refer to a type of research design that lacks the element of
random assignment.”

Quasi experimental design is also called EX POST FACTO DESIGN because

here the researcher only can understand the effect of some event that
has happened already in the past .
 Difference between true experimental design and
quasi experimental design
• The main difference between true experimental design and quasi
experimental design is random assignment of subject in groups.
• In true experimental situation experimenter has complete control
over the experiment. In quasi experimental situation, the
experimenter does not have control over the assignment of subject to
condition.
• In true experimental design we manipulate variables but in quasi
experimental design manipulation of variable is not possible, we
observe categories of subjects.
 STEPS OF DOING QUASI-
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:
1. Identify the Research Question
2. Choose Treatment and Control groups
3. Identify Confounding Variables
4. Pre-Test
5. Implement Intervention
6. Post-Test
7. Data Analysis
8. Interpret Results
9. Draw Conclusions
10. Report Findings
TYPES OF QUASI EXPERIMENTAL
DESIGN:

1. Non-equivalent Post-Test Only Group Design

2. Non-equivalent Control Group Design
3. Interrupted Time Series Design
4. Multiple Time Series Design
5. The Separate Pretest-Posttest Sample Design
6. The Double Pre-test Design
7. The Switching Replications Design
8. Counterbalanced Design
9. Repeated Treatment Design
10. Mixed Factorial Design with one Non-
NON-EQUIVALENT POST TEST ONLY
GROUP DESIGN:
The non-equivalent, post test only design consists of administering an
outcome measure to two groups or to a program/treatment group and a
comparison. A major problem with this design is that the two groups
might not be necessarily the same before any instruction takes place
and may differ in important ways that influence what progress they are
able to make.
FOR EXAMPLE:
One group of students might receive reading instruction using a whole language
program(X1) while the other receives a phonetics-based program(X2). After twelve
weeks, a reading comprehension test can be administered to see which program was
more effective.
PROGRAM POST TEST

G1 X1 O1

G2 X2 O2

For instance, if it is found that the students in the phonetics groups perform better,
there is no way of determining if they are better prepared or better readers even
before the program and/or whether other factors are influential to their growth.
 NON EQUIVALENT CONTROL GROUP
DESIGN:

In this design, both a control group and an experimental group is

compare. However the groups are chosen and assigned out of
convenience rather than through randomization. The problem with this
design is in determining how to compare results between the
experimental and control group.
FOR EXAMPLE:
We are interested to study the effect of special training programs, on the grade point
average of 10th grade students. Researcher selected two sections of X grade (Section A
and Section B) from the same school. We find out the grade point at the start of the
program and then again after the program. The group who does not receive treatment
(training) is our control group. O: Observation ; Training Program: X
Observation before Training Program Observation after
Experimental O1 X O2
Group (Section A)
Control Group O3 O4
(Section B)

Here we cannot say whatever difference we find in the grade point of two groups is
because of training program or because of some other confounding variable. It is possible
that the student of one section who participate in training program were inherently
different in terms of motivation abilities, intelligence from those who did not participate.
INTERRUPTED TIME SERIES DESIGN:
These are the research designs that allow the same group to be compared over
time by considering the trend of the data before and after experimental
manipulation. (Mc burney & White, 2007).
In this design pre-testing and post-testing of one group of subject is done at
different intervals. In the time series design, the purpose might be to determine
the long term effect of treatment and therefore the number of pre-test and
post-test can vary from one each to many. Sometimes there is an interruption
between tests in order to assess the strength of treatment over an extended time
period.
FOR EXAMPLE:
A series of pre-tests are given to a group of subject involved in drug
addiction. Then treatment (X) is given and a series of post-tests are
given. This design is different from single group pretest posttest
design. In this we give the series of pretests and posttests , where as
in the pre test posttest design we give only single pretest and
posttest.

The design can be diagrammed as below:

Pretest observation:
O1, O2, O3, O4 X Posttest observation:
O5, O6, O7, O8
 USES OF QUASI EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:
• When it's not logistically feasible or ethical to conduct
randomized, controlled trials.

• To evaluate interventions in field settings where random

assignment is difficult.

• To demonstrate causality between an intervention and an

outcome.

• To have more real-world applications, especially within the

social sciences.

• To have higher control over targeted hypotheses.

 ETHICS OF USING QUASI
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN:
• Informed Consent
• Minimizing Harm
• Privacy & Confidentiality
• Equitable Treatment
• Deception
• Beneficence and Justice
MERITS:
● Allows for the study of cause-and-effect relationships in real-world
settings.
● Can be more practical and ethical when random assignment is not
possible.
● Provides a balance between experimental control and real-world
applicability.
● Suitable for research in fields where true experiments are impractical
or unethical.
● Can offer insights into complex social and behavioral phenomena.
DEMERITS:
● Lower internal validity compared to true experimental designs.
● Susceptible to selection biases and confounding variables.
● Difficulty in establishing causal relationships due to lack of random
assignment.
● Limited generalizability of findings to other populations or settings.
● Require careful design and statistical techniques to address potential
threats to validity.
 CONCLUSION:
Quasi-experimental design is a research method used in the social
sciences and other fields to study cause-and-effect relationships
between variables. Unlike experimental designs where researchers
have full control over manipulating variables and random assignment of
participants to groups, quasi-experimental designs lack one or both of
these elements.
REFERENCES:
• A K Singh PHD Former professor and Head of Department of Psychology
Patna University, India. Tests, Measurements And Research Methods In
Behavioral Sciences by A K Singh. 2019. Internet Archive,
http://archive.org/details/tests-measurements-and-research-methods-i
n-behavioural-sciences-by-a-k-singh
.
• Learn Psychology With Neha. Quasi-Experimental Design and Types of
Quasi-Experimental Design (MPC-005). 2023. YouTube,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3tDsSWyHuo.
• ‘Quasi-Experiment’. Wikipedia, 23 Dec. 2023. Wikipedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quasi-experiment&oldid=1
191428022
.
• Villegas, Fabiyo. ‘Quasi-Experimental Research: What It Is, Types &
Examples’. Question Pro, 13 June 2022,
https://www.questionpro.com/blog/quasi-experimental-research/.
THANK YOU